MATERIALS aluminum 20mm angle 6mm tube 4mm tube steel 16mm tube m3 threaded rod styrene 2mm tube vinyl 15mm tape clock movement pipette inox m3 hardware 20mm screw 8mm screw nuts washers lock washers
TOOLS hacksaw vice file pencil scale set square drill 2mm hss bit 3mm hss bit scalpel tube cutter scissors hammer punch
Around the 17:00 position the minutes hand of an assembled Meridiem unit will push down on the pipette stem, releasing several drops of ink. Try it in different vessels of water — a glass, a bathtub, a pond… see how the ink acts. More units mean more frequent drops. Try adjusting pivot height and minutes hand length. To refill: put a pin in the hole in the bulb remove bulb counterweight squeeze bulb well immerse stem in ink release bulb and let fill replace weight and remove pin
PROCESSES repeated for each part of a common material angle profiles 81mm base 25mm dropper mount 1 clamp profile so the vertical flage is up and the horizontal flange is away from you, check squareness 2 file end as needed in parallel with workbench edge, at 45° tilt (corner to corner) 3 measure cut length and mark cut lines with pencil against set square on both inner surfaces of profile 4 clamp workpiece so the vertical flange is up and the horizontal flange is toward you 5 cut along outside of vertical line with hacksaw, unclamping and flipping after the first flange is done 6 file cut end, corner to corner, as before metal tubing 6mm×10mm clock barrel 4mm×10mm pivot shaft 4mm×55mm pipette shroud 16mm×20mm pipette bulb weight 1 measure with flush end scale and mark with sharp pencil 2 cut with tube cutter 3 clamp workpiece vertically and file rough edges, repeat for other end 4 if hole is required, measure centre, place in suitable gap (e.g. between floorboards) and punch 5 clamp perpendicular to vice jaws and drill through one side 6 drill through hole to other side if necessary ASSEMBLIES part-specific clock movement 1 remove all casing and hands 2 with bottom-left indentation on clock dial as guide (battery compartment as top), drill 2mm hole all the way through 3 flip movement, expand back hole to 3mm 4 peel label from battery; dissolve residue with alcohol; insert battery in clock clock hand 1 cut 6mm aluminum tube to 10mm for barrel with 2mm hole through one side 2 cut 2mm styrene tube to 40mm for clock hand; insert in hole on barrel 3 fit hand assembly tightly onto minutes spindle of clock movement, using a 2mm×15mm piece of electrical tape for grip dropper 1 cut 4mm aluminum tube to 10mm for pivot shaft with 2mm through hole 2 slide shaft all the way onto pipette, sitting against pipette bulb 3 cut 4mm aluminum tube to 55mm for pipette stem shroud 4 wrap 15mm×15mm electrical tape around pipette stem near pivot shaft 5 slide shroud onto pipette so it sits against pivot shaft and is gripped by tape 6 trim pipette stem to length 7 wrap 15mm×60mm electrical tape around pipette bulb 8 cut pipette bulb weight, slide onto bulb so it is gripped by tape 9 stab pinhole on seam at tip of pipette bulb dropper mount 1 draw x to find centre point of outer vertical profile flange; punch 2 map pivot axle insertion holes on horizontal face 12mm from vertical flange outer surface and 15mm apart; punch 3 drill 3mm holes; clamping workpiece on perpendicular flange against side of block clamped to workbench base-dropper mount assembly 1 find pairings of base and dropper mount with best-aligned cut ends 2 right-align dropper mount on base so vertical flanges overlap 3 clamp to block: base on block top; dropper mount on block side 4 with 3mm bit drill through base using centred hole on dropper mount as guide 5 attach with 8mm m3 screw, washer, and nut so pieces overlap. screw head is under pivot mount clock attachment 1 position movement in corner of base flanges and attached dropper mount, movement back against base vertical flange 2 hold in place and position 2mm bit drill through holes in movement to mark indent in base vertical flange 3 remove clock movement and drill through base with 3mm bit 4 attach with 20mm m3 screw and nut. screw enters movement from back so nut is visible on dial side dropper attachment 1 in vice, cut m3 threaded rod to rough 30mm length 2 bend in vice: clamp long segment (~20mm) and hammer short segment to 90° angle 3 in vice, cut short segment to precise 5mm length and file long segment end to facilitate initial threading 4 thread nut and washer on axle long segment to sit on top surface of pivot base; insert in holes on dropper mount 5 fit axle short segment ends into pivot shaft; add lower nut and (lock) washer to axle long segments 6 adjust so pivot is at correct height relative to dropper mount; tighten all nuts